Farm to Table: Conversations from the Farm and the Kitchen

Farm to Table: Conversations from the Field and the KitchenJoel Mowchenko & Mariana Brito

Chef Mariana Brito and Rancher/Restaurateur Joel Mowchenko share personal experiences from both sides of the farm to fork equation. This entertaining and informative presentation will provide inspiration to anyone considering entering this emerging and exciting field.

Chef Mariana Brito

The Backyard

Mariana Brito is a Chef. She was born in Mexico City, raised in Tijuana. She ventured into Culinary School in the hopes of traveling the world though cooking. It didn't take long for her to realize this was her life calling and finished her degree on Culinary Art School Tijuana at the age of 24. By that time, she had had the rare opportunity of staging at different places in Mexico City & Michelin Star restaurants in Spain and NYC. Now she is back in the Prairies, leading a project called The Backyard, a pop-up restaurant where she serves dinner menus with organic and locally sourced ingredients. She embraces ancient preservation methods, bold Mexican flavours, and looks at the healthfulness of every meal respecting the main star in her dishes: Ingredients.

Joel Mowchenko

The Bent Nail

Joel and his wife Cheryl have run the Bent Nail Café in Mossbank, SK for the past 3 years. He and his family live on their century old family farm where Joel manages Lake of the Rivers Ranch - a medium sized grass fed cattle operation that supplies the café with all its beef needs for sandwiches, soups, taco salads and their famous Bent Nail Burger. The ranch also sells beef direct to consumers; an avenue Joel hopes to expand in the future. Outside of farming and restauranteuring, Joel is active in the community coaching volleyball, leading music at church, serving on numerous boards and committees, and chasing his kids around the country side to their various activities.

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Organic Connections is a non-profit organization established to organize conferences and trade shows for the prairie organic industry and to facilitate activities that enhance and promote the organic sector through education and awareness.